A Hole in the World
by TwiCanonFodder
Summary: Emmett and Rosalie return from their honeymoon in Europe to news of Bella's death. This is a short depiction of Emmett's reaction to that news. Ties in with S.M.'s outtake, 'Miscalculation.' Canon. Emmett POV.


**Twilight Canon Fodder Challenge**

**Title: **A Hole in the World

**Contest Category: **Rookie

**Character: **Emmett

**Rating: **T

**Canon Type: **Book - New Moon, with reference to the New Moon outtake, Miscalculation.

**Disclaimer: **The Twilight Saga, its outtakes and all of its wonderful characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just having fun in the world she created and letting my imagination fill in the blanks.

**Summary: **Emmett and Rosalie return from their honeymoon in Europe to news of Bella's death. This is a short depiction of Emmett's reaction to that news. Ties in with S.M.'s outtake, 'Miscalculation.' Canon. Emmett POV.

**To see other entries in the Canon Fodder Challenge, please visit the C2 page:**

**www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/community/Canon_Fodder_Challenge/79719/**

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We'd just arrived back from Europe. Alaska was just as I remembered, and, seeing the faces of my family on our arrival at Tanya's home made me ecstatic. I swept Esme up in a hug but noticed that she didn't return it with the fervour that she normally would have done in such a situation. Fair enough, Rosalie and I had only been gone for a short time, an unexpected but very much enjoyed honeymoon in Europe the reason that we had been away, but still, I'd expected at least a bit of joy - after all, she was, for all intent and purpose, my mother. The look in her eyes as I released her and set her firmly on the ground was more than enough to let me know that something was terribly wrong.

She'd not been the same since we left Forks - since Edward had decided that we should leave Forks – a decision I'd not been overly happy with myself. Don't get me wrong, I understood his decision. I didn't agree with it, but I understood. He thought it was for the best, the best for Bella that is, that he was protecting her. Personally, I was betting on Alice: that she'd be right and that he would come to his senses and we'd return before any permanent damage could be done, but if there's one thing I know about Edward, it's that he's a stubborn man. Nothing has proved that to me more than him leaving us all behind while he went to wallow in his self imposed pity party. I love him to pieces, and he's a wonderful brother, most of the time, but sometimes, he gets it wrong. God knows, he did when he made the decision to leave that crappy little Washington town we'd come to see as home. That crappy Washington town where I'd met the only woman next to Rosalie who _knew_ that there was more to me than met the eye.

Something wasn't right. Carlisle was standing at the fireplace, staring into the room as if it held the answers to questions that had been haunting him for his entire existence. The silence was stifling and uncomfortable. I was vaguely aware of Esme taking Rosalie into a swift hug as my eyes landed on Alice. My usually bubbly and over-enthusiastic sister was cradled in Jasper's arms, horror etched upon her face, as if she'd seen the worst things imaginable, which for an immortal, was highly improbable.

"What's happened? Did someone die or someth…?"

My attempt at humour trailed off as my question had when I heard a sharp intake of unnecessary breath, and for once, I was glad that I _hadn't_ been gifted with insight into the future or into the thoughts of others; gifts that once, I had been envious of, and which now struck me as being the most vicious of curses.

"Carlisle, what the hell is going on?"

At that moment, two things happened. Firstly, the golden eyes I'd once thought belonged to God met my own, and there was such sorrow in them, the earth must have tilted on its axis, because I almost fell to the ground. The second was the mind-numbing emptiness I felt as my brain processed the words that were uttered. I grasped for Rosalie to centre me, to balance me out, and found her; the vice-tight grip of her hand on mine grounding me.

Alice had seen it. She had jumped from a cliff and the water had taken her. It was too late. There was nothing we could do to prevent it. We couldn't save her.

Bella Swan was dead.

It shouldn't have affected me the way it did, but I knew that if my heart was beating, it would have stopped in that moment. If my eyes could cry, they would be doing just that. I looked at Rosalie, my Angel, the wonder who had brought me to this life, the one for whom I was everything, and who meant everything to me, and as I searched her eyes for anything resembling sadness, I found nothing. I knew then that she would never understand; that it was doubtful she would even attempt to. To her, Bella was just an insignificant human girl, who had been nothing but a hindrance to our lives, regardless of how much happiness she had brought to Edward.

Edward. My poor, poor brother… Did he even know? If I was ever without Rosalie, I wouldn't be able to go on. Losing Bella was terrible, but without Rosalie…. I shuddered at the thought of it. How must he be feeling?

My mask of indifference, something I had perfected as I practiced being 'human' slipped in to place, and I looked to Esme.

"Edward. Does Edward know?"

She turned her face from me, and Carlisle answered.

"No he doesn't." He levelled his gaze at me, and then his eyes moved over all of us, stopping at Rose. "And he must not be told. Not under any circumstances. I realise that this will be difficult when he returns, but if he knew, I dread to think…"

He didn't need to finish. I could only imagine what would happen if Edward knew Bella was gone. I was having a hard enough time accepting it myself, but for him… To have found the one he was meant to be with and have her be a human was trying enough. He'd been through so much already - staving off his thirst for her, battling with his desire to kill her, controlling his physical strength enough to not harm her, killing one of our own to protect her, leaving in the hope that she would lead a normal life after loving him, and continuing to love her – that was enough for _eternity_, let alone a year and a half. To have her death on his conscience would be a torment worse than his own demise, and I was sure that he would wish for it if he knew the truth.

I wasn't being fair, I knew; Edward wasn't to blame. But if we hadn't left, if we hadn't allowed him to convince us to leave, as harsh a truth as it was, this would never have happened. Bella would be safe, and happy, and loved. The young woman who I had grown to see as a little sister, who I had told tales of a previous life to, who I had shared my secrets with, would be with us now, and this, this would be a future that had never existed, because Bella would still be alive.

I'd always made a point of making Bella feel comfortable around me. I knew better than anyone how my size and demeanour could affect a human, and she was so small and fragile, and so precious to Edward that I deliberately made an effort to not scare her. That she accepted those efforts and extended her friendship to me was an honour and I took it gladly. It was nice to have a connection to humanity again, to have someone to talk to about memories of my human life, something which I recalled with much more clarity than the others. Bella was a wonderful human. I would have loved to have seen her as a vampire.

Rose's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"But surely, Carlisle, it would be best if he knew? Then he can move on… and things can be how they're supposed to be."

I loved my wife, I really did, but on this, Carlisle was right. This would destroy Edward. He would not move on from this. So I answered her instead.

"No, Rose. It wouldn't be best. It wouldn't be best for anyone." She looked at me then, incredulous, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. I lowered my voice, and stepped closer to her, so that only she would hear. "Don't do it Rose. I know you're thinking about it, and I understand why, but please Rose, don't. If you tell him, it won't change anything. It will only make things worse. Trust me, please, Angel. Just, don't."

She met my eyes as I pulled away from her, and gave me a slight nod, and I knew that she'd understood. I just hoped it was enough.

A breeze blew in through the French doors, and brought with it the wonderful scent of grizzly bear. Suddenly I was ravenous. We had hunted a lot in Europe, but my diet had consisted mostly of Elk, and they didn't put up much of a fight, they just tended to struggle. But bears… bears fought, and that was exactly what I needed.

"Up for some hunting, Jasper? Carlisle?" I asked.

"I can't I'm afraid, son. Esme and I are going away for a few days; we were just waiting for you two newlyweds to arrive before we left. We won't be far, but I think we're in need of a break." He glanced at Esme then, and if she could've blushed, she would have and I couldn't help but smile.

"Jas?"

My brother looked down to Alice, who was still in his arms and she gave a small smile. He nodded, and then kissed her.

"Ready when you are."

I looked at Rose, who was now standing next to Esme, and I sighed. After all this time, she was still the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Her blonde hair flowed over her shoulders and her eyes held nothing but love and promises. I went to her.

"See you later, Angel." I turned to Esme. "And I'll see you when you get back. Enjoy your 'break.'" She hugged me then, and I felt her smile as she released me.

We left quickly, the scent of the bear drifting away as it moved further into the forest, only to get stronger as we closed in. Just as I spotted it in a clearing ahead, Jasper veered off and I knew he'd found prey of his own. I tried to concentrate, tried to enjoy the tension as I circled the animal, but all I could think of was that Bella was dead. I'd felt a similar feeling when we'd left Forks, but this was different – it was a finality I couldn't quite accept. Knowing that Bella was alive and safe was something that made it easier for all of us when we'd left her, especially Edward, though he'd deemed it necessary to cut himself off from everyone as a result. I missed him– missed hunting with him, wrestling with him. It just wasn't the same when we weren't all together as a family. A family that Bella had been part of, if only for a short time…

Now that she was gone…

A hawk screamed somewhere in the distance, and as the bear lunged for me, I was flooded with memories of the final moments of my life. I fought back, angry. Irrationally angry. At everything. I was angry at the bear for simply being a bear. I was angry at Edward for convincing us to leave Forks and then running away from the consequences. I was angry at the world because Bella was no longer in it.

My temper erupted, and I lashed out wildly, grappling with the beast in mid-air as I barrelled into it and sprinted to the other side of the clearing. I tore at it frantically, and it wailed and wailed in agony, so loud it almost hurt my ears. It was only once I saw that it was no longer moving, that I realised the sound had been coming from me.

I looked down and saw that I was covered in blood. I felt empty, lost and out of control. I needed to see Rose. As I stood, I picked up the torn carcass and threw it, watching as it smashed into a tree, which wobbled erratically from the sheer force of the impact.

I caught her scent before I heard her plea.

"Emmett!" She screamed. "Emmett, _help_!"


End file.
